He revealed to The Post yesterday he will announce his decision before midseason.

“I have to fight for my salvation,’’ Rivera said. “I have to work for that. That is what makes a real closer. That is the game I would love to close. That is what drives me.

“These are only games, now we are talking about lives. There is nothing better than that. That’s closing the deal.

“There is definitely a higher calling. I’m not a man to talk about fame or what I have accomplished, none of that stuff. To me that is good, but it is not important.

“If I can get hold of a teenager and tell him, ‘You know what, Jesus loves you, He cares about you and your family,’ that is the message. That’s what I want to do.’’

Rivera, 42, appears to be preparing himself mentally to move on and is savoring each baseball day. He wants to make sure his final decision is the correct one, and that’s why he has yet to announce it.

“I think maybe it will be before the All-Star break,’’ Rivera said of when he will make that announcement.